COMMENTARY: The holdup to MLS aspirations for Orlando City might be stadium

The rumbles grow for Orlando City to be the cornerstone for a Major League Soccer franchise in the future. The president of The Ruckus, Lori Conlee, released in a pregame game-plan e-mail a few weeks ago that she had it on credible sources that there is active talk between the City ownership group and MLS. I do not have access to these sources, so I consider this a rumor. Recently, the website MLS:Rumors released an article that claimed Orlando City might be maneuvering around the New York Cosmos for the very next expansion, due to issues surrounding a potential stadium. But many consider MLS:R to be a dubious source of rumors, and they didn’t reveal the particular sources either. However, recently the MLS website itself revealed that the league had contact with Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf about an MLS team in connection with his latest stadium plan for the Vikings in Arden Hills, Minn., to the north of St. Paul. Many people look at the Twin Cities and see the barely-breathing NSC Stars of the new NASL. But Minnesota was one of the power markets of the classic North American Soccer League, posting well above-average attendance every year of ...

Orlando City Wins First Ever Game Against Philadelphia Union

Philadelphia Union finished their Florida training camp by falling to new USL PRO side Orlando City S.C., 1-0, at the Citrus Bowl in downtown Orlando on Saturday night. The game went sour for Union very fast as defender Carlos Valdes was sent off at 18' for a bad tackle on City striker Maxwell Griffin just outside the penalty box. City midfielder Lewis Neal, a trainee who was with English League Two side Shrewsbury Town in January, took the free kick and sunk it into the left corner of the goal for the only score of the match. Down a man, Union was severely disadvantaged against the third-tier club for the remainder of the match. Danny Mwanga pushed two shots wide of the City goal in the first half for the team's best shots. Midfielder Kyle Nakazawa took the initiative for Union in the second half, but was unable to make anything out of the opportunities presented to him. City, for whom this match was their first ever, tried their best to work for their favor, but was limited to the single goal. Neal and Generation Adidas standout Jamie Watson worked the midfield very well, frequently getting the ball to open ...

Orlando Needs MLS, not MLB

I tweeted this last night while I was at the second night of the Pro Soccer Classic at Disney: Orlando needs MLS soccer, not MLB. I honestly believe that is the case. A few months ago, I posted about Armando Gutierrez and his attempt to bring Major League Baseball to Orlando. But thinking more deeply on the idea, I’ve come to the conclusion that MLB in Orlando just will not work. The reason: Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay relies on Orlando to help get more attendance for the Rays. Orlando would need to rely on Tampa Bay even more. The problem is, that just isn’t possible. If we stole the Rays, who have made no secret of their desire for a new stadium, away from Tampa Bay, it would undoubtedly alienate the market. Back in 1991, they boycotted Blockbuster Video when CEO and then-Marlins owner H. Wayne Huizenga vetoed the already-agreed-upon move of the San Francisco Giants to St. Petersburg. Don’t think for one moment they won’t act in anger against the Rays and Orlando if the Rays moved here. And if we moved a different team, like the Oakland Athletics, to Orlando, we still would not have the support of Tampa Bay. Only then, the Rays will ...